Aryna Sabalenka crowns the tennis season of her life with the WTA No. 1 ranking

RIYADH — This time last year, Aryna Sabalenka was the core of one player revolt against the women’s tour – while he was dethroned as world No.1 by Iga Swiatek.

The world’s best players were there Cancun for the final WTA Tour Finalswhich terrible weather conditions and a hastily constructed venue turned into a circus. Sabalenka said on social media that she felt “disrespected” by the standard of the event, which included practice courts that did not feel safe to play on.

Just before the event, 21 of the world’s top players, including Sabalenka, wrote a letter to then-WTA Tour CEO Steve Simon outlining a series of grievances, demanding higher pay, a more flexible schedule and expanded childcare. Simon, who has since been replaced as chief executive by Portia Archer but remains as chairman, apologized for the debacle, saying: “You have been heard.”

A year later, Sabalenka’s most important lesson is the power of collective action. “We all came together. My word or Iga (Swiatek’s) word would not count alone, it would have no weight,” she told ci in an interview in Riyadh on the eve of this year’s WTA Finals.

“Last year was about us all fighting for our rights. A very good moment for all of us to fight for what we deserve.

“We are in better conditions where we can focus on our tennis, not on what is going on outside of tennis.”

There is still change that Sabalenka would like to see. When Sabalenka won the Cincinnati Open in August, Sabalenka received exactly half of the $1.05 million (£805,200) prize money awarded to men’s champion Jannik Sinner. In June 2023, the WTA announced a pay deal, but it doesn’t start until 2027 for WTA 1000s like Cincinnati and until 2033 for smaller events.

An undefeated champion at the WTA Tour Finals will earn $5m (£3.8m), the highest prize money ever at a WTA or ATP event.

“I feel like we deserve it,” Sabalenka said before exiting for a long break.

“I’m looking forward to discussing what we want to improve and bringing it to the table for the WTA. To say, ‘Listen, this is all of us. We voted and this is what we want to improve.’

“This is the only way we can improve things – when we come together.”

Sabalenka’s growing status as a stateswoman reflects her changing position in the game.

A year ago in Cancun, Iga Swiatek was the player to beat despite Sabalenka’s No. 1 ranking. She duly destroyed the field, thrashing Sabalenka in the semifinals en route to win the title undefeated and regain the top spot. Sabalenka had been there eight weeks – even less in her memory. “What was it, a week? Two?” she said.

Then it felt as if Swiatek had just borrowed the world No. 1 throne from his rival. This time, Sabalenka has a stronger claim to be the best player in the world, winning two Grand Slam titles to Swiatek’s one, but a total of four titles in 2024 to Swiatek’s five.

None of that matters to Sabalenka now. After … she will stay there in 2025, no matter what Swiatek does. Doing it on the field felt better than Monday, October 21, when she returned to world No. 1 after both she and Swiatek dropped points to miss the WTA’s quota of playing six 500-level events per season. No one — not even she and Swiatek — seemed to know it was coming. “I was like, ‘How? What happened?’ My boyfriend actually said to me, “Oh, congratulations, you’re No. 1 in the world.” I’m like, ‘What?'” she said at a press conference in Riyadh.

She has been playing like she belongs there for some time. Sabalenka went on a 15-match winning streak in August and September, and since the start of the Cincinnati Open she has won 21 of 22 matches. The 22nd of them was against Zheng on Saturday, a match where Sabalenka showed how she has been able to separate herself from the court. Zheng is a fine player in excellent form and was roared on by what felt like a home crowd with so many Chinese spectators, but Sabalenka was just too good and prevailed 6-3, 6-4.

Zheng only forced one break point in Saturday’s match and she has now lost all five games against the Belarusian and won just one set.

Sabalenka carries the aura of that kind of streak off the court, as well as on it. “I’m more experienced. I have this belief that I can be the best player in the world and I think you’re right – it’s just the way I carry myself,” she said.

“It’s not about ranking – my results show that I can be the best in the world.”

Those results have been built on tactical adjustments to her powerful game, with Sabalenka adding significant variety since the Italian Open in May. Sabalenka used to rarely deviate from her amazing ball-striking, often enough to blow an opponent off the court. Still, opponents knew that if things started to go against her, Sabalenka had the capacity to beat herself. This is pretty much what happened in the 2023 US Open final against Coco Gauff, where Sabalenka struggled to cope with the raucous home crowd and increasing pressure from Gauff’s side of the court.

In Italy, Sabalenka started hitting drop shots. With her opponents generally pinned behind the baseline, moving backwards instead of forwards to counter her phenomenal shot weight, it made perfect sense – and has delivered significant results even when she was physically limited.

“There was this crazy match against Svitolina in Rome.

“I got hurt there – I was in a lot of pain. With Svitolina sometimes it’s really hard to hit the winners and I had to cut the points,” Sabalenka said.

“I saw that she was standing far back. I thought, ‘Let’s just go for the drop shot.’ If it works, if it works. If not, I’m out of here.’

“I don’t know how many drop shots I made in that match, but they all made it. Now I’m pretty sure I can use this image whenever I want. Before, I didn’t really know how to use it, so I didn’t want to risk it.”

Sabalenka won that match against Svitolina 4-6, 6-1, 7-6(7), after midnight, after saving three match points.

When a collection of dropshots was uploaded to X, Sabalenka joked, “Probably the first and last time in my life.”

It has since become an important part of her repertoire, especially in the 2024 US Open final, 12 months after her implosion against Gauff. Sabalenka held her nerve against Jessica Pegula in a long, tense first-set final, going to the well with drop shots and short angles at crucial moments, just as she had against Emma Navarro in the semifinals.

In the final few points, she put away a volley winner, pulled Pegula to the forecourt before popping a passing shot above her, then broke the set with an angled backhand drop. The contrast from the Gauff final, where her only reaction to adversity was to keep swinging, could hardly have been greater.

Sabalenka has no doubt that the greater variety has given her a significant advantage.

“I think the players now probably expect it,” she says. “But before I think they never expected it. They always expected me to just go over and that’s what they prepared for.

“That kind of variety puts more pressure on them, because now they have to guess. They see that I have drop-shot opportunity, I have the ability to hit the ball, and they have to guess. And that’s what gives more error.

“I think it’s a huge improvement in my tennis.”

Working on variety has increased her feeling in tense moments, and Sabalenka believes it has contributed to her being more clear-headed on the court. She has regretted some of the finals she has lost, such as the tiebreak thriller in the final to Swiatek in Madrid, but at Grand Slams, Sabalenka has been ruthless, winning both finals in straight sets and not dropping a set at the Australian Open. She lost only one match at the majors in 2023 when she suffered a stomach bug against Mirra Andreeva in the French Open quarterfinals; a shoulder injury forced her to miss Wimbledon.

On the surface, 2024 has been a season of triumph for Sabalenka, but there have been some dire lows. In March, her ex-boyfriend Konstantin Koltsova former international ice hockey player and Belarusian, died suddenly in Miami.

Sabalenka tried to carry on as usual, focusing on her tennis and blocking out the part of her that told her to process what happened by taking a break. The forced break around Wimbledon proved a blessing in disguise; it allowed her to properly grieve and reset.

“My first reaction was to just keep going and not think,” she said.

“I put so much stress on my body that it became an injury. So I had to have this break. It was really good to step back to just look at everything as a bigger picture and understand some things. There are so many things I realized in that little break.

“I think I have really good people around me who really care about me and who are always there for me, support me and who are always ready to talk when I need to talk. I think ​​that’s what really helped me keep going after some very difficult situations.”

In a time of huge transition at the top of women’s tennis, with Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff and Elena Rybakina all changing coaches, Sabalenka’s team – led by Anton Dubrov and Jason Stacy – has been a constant through ups and downs, including the nadir in 2022 when her serve deserted her.

Sabalenka, who has an infectious laugh and a generally positive outlook, seems to enjoy having fun with her team in what can be a stifling environment on tour, constantly filming TikToks or yapping around practice in between the serious thing. At the moment, she gives the impression of being in a good place, both on and off the pitch.

Sabalenka’s feeling that she can focus on tennis and not things outside contrasts with the strength of feeling about hosting the WTA Tour Finals in Saudi Arabia, given the country’s human rights record towards women and the LGBTQ+ community. Sabalenka did not discuss this in depth when asked at her press conference on Friday, focusing on the improvements for the players after the debacle in Cancun 12 months ago.

On the court, she aims for significant progress in 2025. She will reverse the disappointments at Roland Garros and Wimbledon by turning some narrow losses into victories.

“I have to be mentally strong enough to close the match and not let everything that comes to my head ruin those matches.

“I love this tournament and it’s the gap for improvement.”

Those are the two Grand Slams missing from Sabalenka’s resume, but her astonishing consistency across majors means there’s no reason she can’t be as successful at them as she has been in Melbourne and New York. Going back to the 2022 US Open, Sabalenka has reached the semifinals or better at seven of the last eight majors she has played. Overall, Sabalenka has won 55 of her 67 matches this year, a career-high 82 percent.

For now, though, the focus is on the WTA Finals and maintaining her lead over Swiatek as tennis heads into 2025.

A year after the chaotic and disappointing end to 2023, Sabalenka has clarity now and for the future.

This article originally appeared in Athletics.

Tennis, Women’s tennis

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